City of Spruce Grove Mayor Stuart Houston, Stony Plain Mayor William Choy and Parkland County Mayor Rod Shaigec sign a Regional Letter of Intent to work on a regional plan at the Parkland County office on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. Each community was just listed on Maclean's ranking of the best Canadian communities. File photo

Spruce Grove and Stony Plain have been ranked as two of Canada’s better communities to live in.

Maclean’s Magazine released their 2019 report on more than 400 communities across the country earlier this month. Each municipality was evaluated through its wealth and economy, affordability, population growth, taxes, commute, crime, weather, access to health care and amenities and culture.

Stony Plain made the list for the first time at number 10 out of 46 communities in Alberta and was at 185 nationally. Spruce Grove was at 15 in Alberta and 222 nationally.

Mayor William Choy says this Stony Plain result was because of diligent and careful planning by town council and is rooted in a balance of offerings.

“Over the last decade we have been working well,” he said. “The key is to be well-rounded. You do not want to focus on one thing at a time. Some places do that too much and maybe their amenities are great, but they do not have good taxes or the most effective economy.”

The highest rated features for the town were its demographics, affordability and wealth and economy. Choy added these areas can always be improved and a number of items in the Town strategic plan can get Stony Plain higher on the list when the magazine does future editions.

“If we pull the trigger on the rec centre project that could attract visitors,” Choy said. “It could also bring in new residents and ultimately enhance the quality of life for all those who live in the area now.”

Disputing the standings

Spruce Grove’s best features were its demographics, wealth and economy and affordability.

Mayor Stuart Houston did say these features were high points for the area, but also noted he had little use for the magazine after a previous report listed the city as one of the most dangerous in Canada.

“It is a story they use to sell magazines. I do not put a lot of credence in it,” he said. “They said we had high crime too, we do not.”

That report came out in 2018. RCMP Detachment Commander Mike Lokken said at the time the crime severity index for the community, which was listed as 115, was not concerning as it was near the safe number of 100. Houston emphasized this in his comments and said council was dedicated to getting more police on the streets and improving the lives of residents in any way they could as public servants and officials.

“There will be six more officers over three years,” Houston said. “We are doing a lot and will keep doing it to keep people satisfied.”

Other areas listed by Maclean’s included Parkland County at 330 overall and 32 in Alberta and Edmonton at 79 overall and fourth in Alberta.